The Frito-Lay Name A Skylander contest has kicked off today and it has given us a look at three new Skylanders from the upcoming sequel. Unlike the MegaBloks leak last week we can at least these as new Skylanders and not just as new characters. Their names aren’t known yet as they will be named by a lucky winner (or winners) of the Frito-Lay contest. Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think!

While we’re disappointed that New York Toy Fair has come and gone without an official Skylanders 4 announcement we won’t be walking away empty handed. Action figure news site Figures.com collected all of the press materials that MegaBrands had on hand. These materials give us our first look at several unknown characters as well as a possible direction that the next game may take. While looking through the gallery keep an eye out for these unfamiliar faces:

White knight(?) character with giant sword

Orange warrior(?) with dual hammers

Blue toad(?) with bow & arrow. Ally to Kaos? Possibly named Ranger

As well as these new character you’ll see several Skylanders riding karts. Will vehicle based racing be part of the next Skylanders installment? We’ll have to wait for an official announcement but in the meantime check out the gallery below and see these new characters for yourself.

Curious about the contents of the Skylanders Universe Ultimate Box Set? So were we until we stumbled across one at our local Wal-Mart. I picked it up immediately and brought it home so my personal buddy Tree Rex could help me open up. Here’s what portalmasters will find inside:

1Spyro vs the Mega Monsters book

1 Hot Dog’s Quiz Quest activity book

1 Skylanders Universe Mad Libs activity book

1 3D Skylanders poster

1 pair Eruptor 3D glasses

1 sheet swappable stickers

While there’s nothing truly new inside the box it is a great way to get caught up on the numerous Skylanders Universe books that have been released over the past couple years. The Mask of Power series of books captures the feel of the games and the 2 activity books are sure to keep the kids entertained while you’re on the go. The stickers and poster are just icing on this collection.

The Skylanders Ultimate Box Set is available now from several retailers. While we found it for cheaper in-store ($11.87) it can be pruchased online from Walmart.com ($15.21) or from Amazon.com ($14.49).

Despite the distinct lack of Skylanders 4 information at this year’s New Toy Fair (thus squashing all of our predictions), Activision is still using this annual industry event as a cornerstone of its Skylanders marketing strategy. What isn’t different is that there’s a new exclusive variant for us to drool over: Red Metallic Dune Bug!

Since most Skylanders fans won’t be able to attend in person the official Skylanders twitter account is giving us a chance to win a metallic Dune Bug of our very own. All you need to do is RT this tweet from @SkylandersGame and you’re entered to win. It really is as simple as that! Here’s their official rules regarding the contest.

Good luck to everyone who enters as I’d lover to see a fellow portalflipper win!

It seems late March/early April will be a hot bed of Skylander releases this year. Not only do eager portalmasters have the Wave 4 Easter line to look forward to but Nitro Freeze Blade is now on the radar. Target.com has put up a preorder page for their exclusive variant figure with an estimated ship date of 3/23/14. Despite Nitro Freeze Blade’s release date being known well in advance there’s still no word on when the rest of Wave 4 will be released.

Activision issued its end of year earnings report for 2013 today and it’s no surprise that results were better than they anticipated thanks in no small part to the Skylanders franchise surpassing $2 billion in sales worldwide. Surprisingly though their report contained little information on Skylanders 4 other than confirming that it will be happening at some point this year. Here’s some other quick Skylanders facts that were released as well:

Activision was the #1 console & handheld publisher for 2013 in North America & Europe

Skylanders was the #3 best-selling video game franchise overall in North America & Europe

Skylanders Giants was the #4 best-selling video game while Skylanders SWAP Force was the #6 best-selling video game in North America & Europe

Over 175 million Skylanders toys have been sold worldwide

Here’s to a fantastic 2014 for Activision, its subsidiaries, and its investors!

Spring has yet to be spring but major retailers across the country are beginning to turn their eyes towards Easter toy sales. Best Buy is getting geared up with a Spring Edition line of Skylanders that come in holiday packaging currently set to release in early April. Although the listings were pulled from the web site nearly as quickly as they appeared, this gives us our first look at a few of the Skylanders we can expect in the next wave. Here’s the list of the known Spring Edition figures:

Fryno

Springtime Trigger Happy

Punk Shock

No word yet on if the Spring Edition packaging is exclusive to Best Buy or how this release fits with the full Wave 4 release but as we find out more we’ll pass that info along to you!